Stroke Foundation report identifies 'stroke belt' along NSW coast

Dan Harrison

A ‘‘stroke belt’’ of coastal communities stretching from Byron Bay to North Sydney has been identified in a report showing the regions of Australia where people are most at risk of stroke.

The National Stroke Foundation issued the report, which was prepared by Deloitte Access Economics and funded by pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim. It identifies federal electorates that bear the greatest burden of stroke.

‘‘Almost the entire NSW coast features in the top quarter of electorates for stroke burden with a stroke belt running from the Byron Bay electorate of Richmond through to the doorstep of inner Sydney electorates North Sydney and Warringah,’’ the report says.

‘‘The stroke belt picks up again on the other side of Sydney in the electorate of Throsby and runs south to the Victorian border.’’

Five of the 10 electorates with the highest number of stroke survivors are in NSW.

NSW is also home to six of the 10 electorates where the highest number of strokes are expected to occur this year, based on the number of residents with risk factors such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol or physical inactivity.

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They include the north coast electorates of Richmond and Page, the mid-north coast electorate of Lyne, as well as Robertson on the central coast, Bradfield in north Sydney and then Gilmore on the south coast.

National Stroke Foundation chief executive Erin Lalor said the research could help plan for where to develop services but it showed that the burden of stroke was significant in all parts of the nation.

‘‘Despite successive governments recognising stroke as a national health priority, Australia does not have a federally funded strategy or the care services to address widespread need.’’

An Australian suffers a stroke every 10 minutes and almost 1000 Australians have a stroke every week. Almost 440,000 Australians have survived a stroke but two-thirds of them are disabled.

Stroke has been a national health priority since 1996.

About 12,000 Australians will die this year from stroke. It kills more women than breast cancer and more men than prostate cancer.

Assistant Minister for Health Fiona Nash said the number of stroke deaths per 100,000 Australians had been falling over the past three decades, but cerebrovascular disease - most notably stroke - was the second most common underlying cause of death for Australians.

Senator Nash said the report reinforced how healthier lifestyle choices such as maintaining a healthy weight, eating a balanced diet, getting enough exercise, not smoking and not drinking excessively could help prevent chronic conditions such as stroke.

In Victoria, the electorate of Flinders that covers the Mornington Peninsula, the Bass Coast and Phillip Island, has the highest number of expected strokes in the state.

The other three national electorates that are expected to see the highest number of strokes this year are the Adelaide seats of Hindmarsh, Sturt and Boothby.